A rare health condition swept through Dublin schools earlier this month, keeping scores of students from attending classes. No, it wasn’t H1N1, also known as swine flu. And, fortunately its effects were felt for a single day. On Nov. 3, Dublin had a case of Orange and Black Fever.

For the first time since moving from New York to San Francisco after the 1957 season, the Giants won the World Series. Whether residents were lifelong Giants fans or simply saw the bandwagon rolling by and jumped aboard to join the crowd, the Bay Area was swept up in the excitement and torture that was Giants baseball in 2010.

On Nov. 3, hundreds of thousands of people converged on San Francisco to witness the victory parade. Among that throng of humanity were quite a few Dublin residents whose children mysteriously called in absent due to “illness.”

The day before the parade, 160 students missed school. The day after the parade, 158 students were absent. On parade day, Orange and Black Fever caused 301 students to miss school. That’s an 88 percent jump from the day before.

Not surprising, Dublin High represented the largest chunk of absences that day, with 115 students out “sick.” That compares with just 35 the day before. The next highest was Fallon at 38 (Principal Aileen Parsons says most of those were elementary school students), Frederiksen with 28, and Green with 27 students absent. Least affected were Dublin Elementary with 19, and Murray with 22.

The principals I spoke with were pretty sympathetic about the one-day fever, with a couple even throwing in a “Go Giants!” along the way.

Orange and Black Fever was a bit expensive to cure, too. While a number of students out that day were legitimately ill and not at the parade, 301 absences equals about $10,535 in lost revenue — about $35 per student). That said, if you divide that amount by 56, which is the number of years since the Giants last won the World Series, that’s really just an investment of $188 a year to savor a long overdue ticker tape parade.

CPR-7: When someone has a heart attack in Alameda County, 70 percent of the time there will not be anyone present who can immediately help administer CPR before a paramedic arrives. Alameda County health officials are trying to change that.

“They believe this low rate is due to drivers training being discontinued in the schools,” says Karey Ronnow, a physical education teacher at Wells Middle School.

Recognizing that middle school students are capable of providing immediate CPR assistance, Ronnow says the county is spearheading a campaign to teach CPR to every seventh-grader in Dublin in hopes that the youngsters will then help teach adults.

The students will be taught lifesaving skills Friday during PE classes. Each student also will be provided an instructional DVD and mini CPR Annie mannequin.

How We Play Survey: The city is asking for five minutes of your time to help provide guidance about special events — including the currently suspended Day on the Glen Festival.

Day on the Glen was suspended this past year in a budget-cutting move. In addition, there has been some mixed reaction to the event from residents. The city would like to get additional insight, including the types of food and drink vendors, activities, rides and more that would make it likely that you and your family would attend.

Log on to the city’s new website at www.dublin.ca.gov and click on the survey link under “Dublin News.”

Gangs were likely involved in the string of arson attacks, police said, and they come amid mounting concerns in Sweden about gang-related violence. More than 40 people were shot and killed in the Nordic country last year, and the prime minister said in January that he was not ruling out a military response to gang activity.

A rooftop camera recorded the silver Ford Fiesta driving past Parliament and suddenly veering sharply to the left, striking cyclists waiting at a set of lights, then crossing the road and crashing into a barrier outside Parliament. Armed police surrounded the car within seconds, pulling a man from the vehicle. Police said the driver was alone and no weapons were...